Effective Osmosis

By Courtney Turner

My family has a whiteboard in our kitchen we use to keep track of upcoming events—things like school early release days, baseball games and practices, orthodontist appointments, etc. Pretty much our daily grind. More than a year ago, in an attempt to motivate my kids, I took over half the board and wrote out what I believed to be a highly motivational and inspiring list I’d come across: 10 Things That Require Zero Talent. I just knew this list was THE THING that would resonate with my children and make them realize their potential. Absent that, I was counting on osmosis to do its thing.

That night after dinner, I directed everyone’s attention to the whiteboard. We took turns reading off the items on the list. I left the list up on the board and it has been up there, taking up half our family’s daily grind space, for well over a year now. No one has referenced or mentioned it—it’s just there, taking up space.

A few days ago, one of my sons and I were talking about something and he said, “You know, mom, it’s like that list you have up in the kitchen,” and then proceeded to recite the list to me, items one to 10, in perfect order, and explained how he had been applying the principles in his life; granted, he was talking about baseball the entire time, but I’ll take what I can get.

Even though I left the list up on the whiteboard, I was fairly certain no one had paid any attention to it. Proven wrong, the list is staying up indefinitely. You never know when, as with my son, the principles on this list might get absorbed through osmosis. At the end of the day, I think it’s just a good reminder that it doesn’t take much to do a lot.

Ten Things That Require Zero Talent

Being on time.

Work ethic.

Effort.

Body language.

Energy.

Attitude.

Passion.

Being coachable.

Doing extra.

Being prepared.

Courtney Turner is IPMI’s membership engagement and special projects manager.